Sheep Hunting Gear List – Updated 2010 List

Backpack Sheep Hunting Gear List

A few years ago I put out the first version of my backpack sheep hunting list, after a few more trips and miles on the trail I’ve upgraded some gear and refined the list a little more. This list isn’t the be-all-end-all of sheep hunting gear lists but it’s a good start, I may have missed a few items and will add them over the coming weeks if thats the case.

The total weight for all the gear on this packed up and ready for the trail is approx 63lbs. My partner usually packs the vestibule and saw, and our 3rd partner packs the stove and water filter bringing the total pack weight, including rifle down to about 59lbs which is a very respectable pack weight for a 7-8 day backpack hunt. Adjust your food accordingly for the duration of your trip.

Good list Carl
Someone should put a list together for the solo hunter … pack weight becomes more important then. It would be interesting to see the what items become nessessary vs are brought for comfort and “what if” scenerios. With meat, cape (live) , and horms I exstimated my pack weight was 140lbs plus which is probably the maximum the average person can carrry out of the mountains for 10+ km’s.I will take a shot at the solo list but dont have any specific weights.

The goal is to keep pack between 45lbs and 55lbs. By the time the sheep is taken a person should be less 10lbs of food, water, ammo….so 45lbs pack plus meat , shoulder cape ,and horns adding up to be 120 to 140lbs and in one trip… thats the goal. I know i left several things off the list compared to your list but i feel quite comfortable with what i have for 7 or 8 day hunt in August to late September. For others who dont spend much time hunting by them selves and over nighting in places where they have never been before items such flashlites, GPS, First aid kit and SPOT should be brought.

For a person to make 1 trip back to the truck some items have to be sacrificed and risks taken thats just the nature of solo hunting.

The bivy bag, with a sil-tarp II would be a good lighter weight setup, getting rid of the tent.

Tripod – I would keep the tripod, or get a lighter weight one. Glassing with a spotter prone, wouldn’t be comfy for me. I like to sit and glass for many hours at a time.

Rifle & Rounds – I only take 12 rounds with me on a hunt. That would lighten you up a little bit more. 3 in my clip and 9 in my rifle butt shell holder. I sight in before I go, and most the time while trekking in bush the gun is strapped tightly to my pack. Even while hiking, as to not risk bumping it. Then again, it’s taken some good knocks and still been okay when checked.

Knife – I pack a Havalon Piranta now and it’s an awesome lightweight little caping/skinning knife. Perfect for sheep/deer/goat.

First Aid – Not really understanding why you would recommend someone NOT carry a SPOT? I would urge anyone who ventures out solo to have at LEAST a SPOT with them. Very, Very cheap insurance should something happen. The new SPOT II units are very lightweight, we’ll hopefully have a full review of them on the site sometime in 2011.

Map/Compass – With you on that one, My grandparents were outfitters for many years in Northern BC, I know the area we hunt very well and could navigate my way around based on the drainages. For a guy that didn’t know the country at all a small laminated Google map has been helpful for us before.

Saw – I do have a pack saw (trail blazer buck saw) that weighs less than a pound and is good if you want a nice camp, with a nice fire (down low in the timber). Smaller big game like sheep/deer you can cut right down into the vertebrae with your knife and then just twist the head right off. Sheep have much thicker cartiledge, muscle etc… around their neck/head though for the impacts they need to withstand when fighting.

Wool – Not with you on the wool! unless you are talking Merino wool??? I have many high quality synthetic layers of clothing that seem to work really well for me and are very light weight.

2 Liter pop bottle – This takes up quite a bit of space??? I use the Platypus 1 liter soft plastic bags. They are quite durable and pack really small, I pack 2 or 3. A 2 liter could be hard to fill if all you could find was tiny watering holes. Thats one area where my Katadyn Vario filter has really helped out. We can pump water out of the tiniest puddles and it’s nice and clean. With a 2 liter you’d need a deep pool or a little waterfall of somekind?

Food – Dry food could be alright I guess, MountainHouse is really light, but you DO need a stove/fuel to boil water. Unless you’re using a fire camped down a little lower, which would be fine too. Just more hiking.

My pack weight when full for a 8 day trip is about 58-62lbs with my rifle and all the creature comforts for a backpacker, so a pack weight of 45-55 lbs solo would be very doable, with some slight modifications to the list such as removing a tent and using a bivy/tarp. That would save 5-6lbs right there.

I noticed your list did not included the weight of numerous items such as digital camera, fire paste , water bladders, rope ect…albeit small they will add up – maybe 1lbs or so . Speaking of water it looks like you carry 3.5 liters of water which was not included in your weight. It looks likes you carry more like 63 lbs + 7.7lbs water +1 lb misc stuff not accounded for, for a total approx weight of 72 lbs (going solo). Of course this wil be some what reduced if you have 2 partners sharing some of the items.

There is weights missing from the itemized list but the total pack weight of 58-62lbs is accurate. I only carry 1.5liters of water with me, and then 2 or 3 empty 1 liter bladders. We only fill up the bladders when we’ve made camp. There have been a few occasions where we have packed plenty of water up a hill, only because we’d been there before and knew water was scarce.

Excellent list and blog overall. Your site gave me lots of ideas when gearing up for a backpack hunt. Had a question for you on the tent. I am looking at a Hilleberg Nallo2 and was wondering – did you go with the Allak beacause it is free standing as opposed to a tent that needs to be pegged and cinched down to function? From what I have read all the Hilleberg tents are very well suited to sheep hunting. I do like the light weight of the Nallo!!

I chose the Allak because of it’s layout and the comfort it offers two guys. I’ve been using an ID MK III for the past few seasons, and like the Nallo it only has 1 door. 1 door becomes a bit of a hassle when you have 2 grown men, coming in and out of the tent, couple that storing stuff in the vestibule and getting in and out is a real pain.

When it rains, you’ll be taking turns removing gear/boots etc.. to get into the tent. With the 2 doors on the Allak you can come/go as you please and have a small vestibule for your gear as well. There is a 2 lb weight difference, but that’s not much if you have a partner to offload the poles/pegs too.

The freestanding tents are handy when you get up in rocky ground and can’t get pegs in as easily. My ID tent was also a free standing tent. Let me know if you have any other questions.

BC Hunting Blog Sponsors

Conservation Organizations We Support

About The BC Hunting Blog

The BC Hunting Blog is owned and operated by Carl Sorensen. Carl grew up in a hunting family and has been an avid hunter in BC for more than 20 years. The opinions expressed on this website are his and his alone.

Questions About Hunting in British Columbia?

Are you a new hunter looking for some answers? Are you on the hunt for reviews before making your next big gear purchase? The BC Hunting Blog is an information dump for hunting related topics in BC. If you have questions or comments please let me know!